On my actual birthday my wife treated me to a fantastic lunch at a local pub. A mini burger to start, followed by bubble and squeak, poached eggs and smoked bacon, all smothered in hollandaise sauce. Almost beaten, but not quite, I had to finish with a knickerbocker glory!! By now soundly beaten, we went home where I dozed off, listening to relaxing music through my new Bose iPod speaker, occasionally waking to read through the details of a pastry cooking course I am going on in September! In the afternoon we had proper birthday tea with the children and my parents, sandwiches, mini sausages, quails'eggs, birthday cake etc. A very tough few days have been had!
On Saturday night, we had a dinner party with our two children's Godparents and uncles. We were still at it at 3.00am, well at least that's when my body waved the little white flag and my feet took the rest of me to bed. Some carried on as though still in their youth. The next morning we met up again for breakfast and never a sorrier group have I seen! Surely the only way to gauge a great night? Red eyes, shaking hands, delayed reactions, lack of coherent speech and a certain politeness that ensures everyone lies through their port stained teeth and says how great everyone else looks!!
I was spoilt rotten with some fantastic presents, an antique corkscrew for all the antique wine I still have yet to buy, a leather hip flask, already full of homemade damson vodka, a trip to the theatre to see the stage production of one my favourite books, Warhorse, a very clever folding bread knife, ideal for a picnic at the races, guess what I am doing on Easter Monday, and a traditional cut throat razor shave, although I will be checking if there is a butchers next door first!! Two weeks ago I wrote about my perfect day and on Saturday I also unwrapped a picture, a collage of all the elements that I had included. I love things like this and it will be a reminder for the rest of my life, not just of my birthday and the party, but also of the memories I have collected and those I have still to make.
The only person I know who will not have enjoyed my excessive birthday-a-thon is Heather, my Weight Watchers Leader!! I have put on in four days what it took me four weeks to take off. I know I should be feeling guilty about my lack of self control and the Tudor-esque gorging of entirely the wrong kinds of food, however I can't and I won't. I threw caution to the wind and thoroughly enjoyed myself and if it takes me another four weeks to repair the damage, so be it! I will probably be stood in the corner of the room in a fat suit, the Weight Watchers equivalent of the dunce's cap, and used as a warning against giving in to temptation!
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| "Even money for a snowstorm!" |
I shall attempt to regain my self control before the weekend as Easter this year will see us entertaining on three of the four days, ending with my daughter's birthday on Monday. She decided as soon as she realised when her birthday was that she wanted to go to the local Point to Point. I am not sure if I should be worried about a seven year old wanting to spend her birthday at the horse races. If her pockets are bulging with winnings at the end of the day I shall turn a blind eye! If not, we will return to the more traditional pink princess party for next year. Part of me wants the conditions to be damp underfoot so that I can sport my new Dubarry boots as I walk the course, however, wet or dry, I am sure they will make an appearance!
On Sunday there will be eight of us for lunch. I am going traditional and will cook a leg of lamb, however due to the Easter Bunny dropping eggs all over the garden, I will be unable to spend too long strapped to the cooker, so I am doing a one pan roast. It is very simple and tastes fantastic as all the flavours blend together during the slow and slow cooking. I recommend that if you are still wavering about what to cook this Easter, get off the fence and cook this.
1. Take a leg of lamb suitable for your numbers. Tesco have a great offer of half price legs of lamb at the moment. Make small incisions with the point of a sharp knife all over and poke in garlic and rosemary. It takes some time but is so worth it. You can put anchovy fillets in as well, if you do just be careful of any other seasoning as anchovies are stuffed full of salt.
2. Roughly chop two onions, slice at least one good sized carrot per person and cut a smallish swede in to 1 - 1.5cm cubes. Add a suitable number of new potatoes to the pan to satisfy hungry appetites. Use a large roasting pan, you will need to have plenty of space for everything to be able to cook properly.
3. Open and rinse two tins of beans. I find cannellini beans work very well, but use whatever you fancy. Add these to the vegetables and thoroughly mix together. Add some fresh parsley and a couple of bay leaves.
4. You need to add some liquid to keep things from burning and sticking. You could add some vegetable or chicken stock, however the flavours from the lamb and veg should be enough for water to suffice. You could always add some stock cube at the end if you wish. The liquid should come about half way up the level of veg.
5. Put the lamb on top of the vegetables and place in the oven. Cooking times will depend on the size of joint you have. When you have worked that out, add 20 minutes and turn the oven down by 20 degrees.
6. You will have to check the liquid doesn't evaporate, but this won't take to much of your egg hunting time. When you check, give the veg a stir. If you fancy something green as well, you can cook it ahead of time and re-heat as you are serving up, otherwise what is in the pan should be enough for you all.
7. Once the lamb is cooked, take it out, wrap or cover in foil and leave somewhere warm to rest. Put the beans and vegetables in a bowl, draining the liquid off first. The pan will be full of wonderful caramelised juices. Put the pan on a high heat and once hot, add the strained liquid and dissolve the solids in the pan. You may well need to add more liquid. Use water, wine or stock. Once you have a gravy that is to your taste, you are ready to eat.
8. The serve, put the veg and beans on the bottom of a large and warm serving tray, carve the lamb and lay the slices on top, put some of the gravy over it all and pop on the table. Put the rest of the gravy in a warm jug and let people help themselves. Don't forget the redcurrant jelly and mint sauce. I think the moment of peace when people first tuck in to this should be called The Silence of the Lamb!
9. After the I will be dishing up my Easter Bread and Butter pudding with some double cream, absolute perfection!
I am asking everyone to refrain from giving me chocolate this year, although seeing what I will be eating, I fear this may be shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted! The children won't need it but will be given their body weight in eggs. My wife will want it but won't get her body weight in Lindt Rabbits. I want less body weight but will get more chocolate! Maybe the Easter Bunny will have myxomatosis this year and leave me alone!
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| Being fitted for my new suit! |
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and have some fantastic weather wherever you are for the long weekend.
That lamb sounds utterly delicious! But, I'm also salivating at that pic of the chocolate body suit. Come to mama...that's my kind of massage!!
ReplyDeleteHi, It was!! We had enough left over for later in the week. I hope you had a great Easter full of sugar rush children!!
DeleteI, like you, am still thinking about chocolate body suits! Luckily we have enough eggs left over. Also do think wearing chocolate counts for weight watchers!?